Kalbany's Starter Guide
So I felt like writing a guide for those just starting off, so here it is. 'Escaping Spawn and Getting The Necessities' The first 30 minutes on the server are probably the most important. During this time your biggest threats are spawn killers and starvation. Check the website for people with a lot of kills, if they are near spawn its usually a good idea to log off and try again another time. Once you have decided that it is safe, start heading straight in any direction. Now you're going to need supplies, and you won't get them near spawn. If you see anybody else they can probably easily kill you, so it's best to stay away. Be careful, but try not to do anything strenuous. Don't jump too much, don't sprint, don't swim if you don't have to. These will deplete your hunger bar quickly, and once you escape the immediate area around spawn it becomes the biggest threat to your life. Keep traveling and watching your hunger. If it becomes night, dig a hole in the ground and cover it up. Stay there until day without moving because you won't lose hunger. Once day comes you should gather anything you find on the ground from dead monsters. Skeleton bones are extremely important, and rotten flesh can come in handy. If you destroy some tall grass for seeds you can use bonemeal for some quick food that can save your life. Gather up some extras (about 16) while you are at it for later. Also, if you don't move after eating rotten flesh the poison won't affect your hunger and you will end up with your hunger bar being more full than before. Crops from bonemeal and rotten flesh can help sustain you for the first few hours, but they are by no means reliable. You want to find some trees and get about a stack of wood planks to build some basic tools, plus a boat. Also gather the saplings that fall. Now you are ready to begin your journey. 'Going Far Far Away' If you traveled North from spawn, you will run into a MASSIVE ocean (January 2012 Map). Build a boat and keep sailing until you are several thousand blocks from spawn. In a boat you don't lose hunger, so it allows you to travel large distances without starving. It's recommend that you head at least 5,000 blocks from spawn. Once you have a good distance between you and the spawn it's time to find an island where you will live. How you choose the island is entirely up to you. You can find an enormous island covered in wildlife and build an underground base somewhere there, or you can find some tiny island that nobody would ever suspect a base to be under. I have done both, and while the resources are helpful on the large island it is probably safer on the small island. Once you have chosen your spot it is time to build a base and a sustainable food supply. If you are on a new map or decide to go in another direction, just go as far as you can without starving and then find some secluded area to build a base under. Above ground bases are never a good idea and will get raided quickly. Building Your Base Dig underground as far as you can. Do not dig straight down or else you may fall into a cave or ravine and die. Dig down to about y=12 for maximum safety. Make sure you cover up the entrance at the top so nobody can see it. For extra safety I usually go back with smoothstone and fill in the rest of the staircase so you can only be found by somebody who decides to dig nearly to bedrock. Once you are down to the ground, your first priority is building a farm. Hollow out a room at least 8x4. While digging you should find some iron, so make a furnace and then smelt the iron to make a bucket. You should go back to the surface to fill 2 buckets of water or if you found a water supply underground use that. Make a 2x2 pool for an infinite water supply. Once you have that, begin building inside the farm. the official wiki has a page that shows optimal farm patterns. Build your small farm and plant the seeds that you gathered before in it. Use the rest of your bonemeal if you have any left for a quick backup food supply. Once you have your farm set up the greatest danger is gone. Continue expanding your base as much as you want. I usually build a tree farm, brewing area, enchanting area, storage/furnace room, and a little living area for decoration. The only one that I would consider necessary at this time is a tree farm. One large enough for 6 trees is usually sufficient. Again, the official wiki has a guide for that. Once you have your tree and wheat farm established you will never have to return to the surface, unless you want to of course. Getting Stronger From digging out your base you should have a decent amount of coal and iron. Use all of that to get a set of iron tools and armor. Once you have the armor your odds of surviving increase so much. Around this time I usually build a chest and furnace area, but that is optional. Expanding your farm is always a good idea as well. What is really important now is making a mine. The most efficient way to mine for resources, mainly diamonds, is detailed here. The guide explains the fastest and safest way of mining for diamonds. Since you made your base at y=12 you can make the tunnel leading directly out of your main base area. As you mine you will find more iron and coal than you will ever need. Smelt the iron into extra picks as you continue looking for diamond. You want as many diamonds as possible. You will need around 30 for a decent set of armor and tools. Most people say build a sword and armor first, but due to the distance you are from spawn I usually prefer getting a set of tools and an enchanting table first. Throw level 1 enchants on everything that you make for some cheap bonuses. Keep mining and you will eventually have a full set of diamond armor and tools. After that, its time to make an exp farm. While mining you are likely to find a mineshaft or some kind of mob spawner. When you find that you should light up the area as much as possible then begin constructing an exp farm. There are hundreds of videos on youtube that explain various ways to make them, so I will not go into detail here. Most work either by making the mobs fall or suffocate them with pistons and a redstone circuit so they are all in one area and can be killed with one punch. Once you built this you should afk by it and let it build up. Make sure your afk area is safe so you don't die while afk as I once did. You can easily farm exp this way. How high you go is up to you, but once you get to a high exp level enchant your armor and sword. Tools are also nice to enchant, but not as necessary. At some time you probably found obsidian, and now that you are geared it is a good time to make a nether portal. Make one and go into the nether. Try to find a nether fortress to find blazes for blaze rods so that you can make a brewing stand. Also you need netherwart. Make a netherwart farm while you are there somewhere near your portal. Make sure it is well hidden, and you can afk by it so it grows. Once you have a decent supply of netherwart go back to your base and begin brewing. Time To Own Once you have potions you are pretty much set. Make as many as you can of whatever kind you like. Splash potions of damage, potions of strength, and potions of healing are the most important. Once you get a good supply of those you are set to do pretty much anything you want. You can keep expanding your base, get even better enchants, raid other bases, pvp near spawn, or go to spawn and help out new players. You have a good chance of survival and can kill many people 1v1, especially if they are not carrying potions. By now you should know what you are doing and can figure things out on your own. Enjoy your time on HCSMP -kalbany (pictures coming when the server is back up) Category:Guides Category:tips Category:Survival